Lawmakers consider 'bill of rights' for homeless Vermonters

Advocates and state leaders gathered for the annual vigil on Jan. 10, 2018.
APRIL MCCULLUM/FREE PRESS

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Whitney Nichols of Brattleboro, a formerly homeless person who now serves on the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, speaks at a vigil about homelessness on the steps of the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier on Jan. 10, 2018.(Photo11: APRIL MCCULLUM/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

Similar bills have been introduced every legislative session since 2013. The House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs took up the bill Wednesday afternoon, on Homelessness Awareness Day at the Statehouse.

"Living on the streets and trying to find a place to sleep or attend to normal bodily functions make for a difficult and painful existence," said Chloe White, the policy director for the ACLU-Vermont. "These situations are only exacerbated when people are threatened with arrest or excluded or discriminated against due to their lack of permanent housing and its sometimes attendant traits."

White suggested that lawmakers go further and establish a right to occupy a vehicle that is legally parked so that people could not be prevented from sleeping in cars.

Karen Richards, executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, said the commission had no formal position on the bill. She questioned the addition of "housing status" to the list of protected categories.

"This adds an additional category that starts potentially a slippery slope," Richards said. "I don't think that's a reason to not do it, but it's somewhat concerning to be expanding the jurisdiction, and where does that stop once you start doing it?"

Richards also said landlords often check housing applicants' credit scores and require housing applicants to provide references from past landlords. Since homeless individuals may fail these tests, Richards said it would be difficult to bring a case against a landlord suspected of discriminating based on housing status.

Julio Thompson, director of the Civil Rights Unit at the Vermont Attorney General's Office, encouraged lawmakers to consider how the section about employment discrimination should be enforced. The bill currently lacks an enforcement mechanism.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.
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